Hug The Elderly Today!

Greetings,

There have been a couple of things that I wanted to talk about on here, but today the best topic of them all came up. Old people are so wise. I kind of thought that after what I have been dealing with this year and other things in the past such as my knee and deciding schools I thought that I knew a whole heck of a lot about life and that I had lived through a lot of different things. I have with 3 surgeries, giving up a sport that I love, having my two grandpas die in the same summer, going through university, living on my own, and on and on. I just thought that I knew everything too. Obviously I don't though. And it was made even more evident to me today. This one lady Joyce that I visit with lays in bed all day and sleeps most of the time because she is too frail and old to get up and do things. She is somewhat confused, or as nurses like to say "pleasantly confused", but a joy to talk to. Today we talked about school and she could not stop saying how much she loved school and how mad she was when she had to stop going. I was like Wow. How much do I take going to school for granted?! Sure I love learning things, but physically being at school, writing papers, and taking exams is not something I always enjoy. Joyce said that she loved it all, no matter how hard it was. I look at her and think of who she used to be when she was young. Now she lays in bed, not really learning anything, just waiting until her time on earth is finished. It is such a blessing to me to hear words like that that awaken my perception of how much God has blessed me. I hope to finish out this year with a bang, no stress, and to the best of my ability. There will be a day when I wished I was back in it and so today I am just going to be thankful for all the learning that I get to do.


Another thing I have begun to realize is why I like biology so much. Sure they pound the evolution crap into your head, but I know better. We study the most obscure animals in extreme habitats with crazy adaptations. There is no way that they should be living, yet they do. Everyday I am amazed at God's creativity. His creativity is one of my favorite things about Him. He made all these animals from scratch. He designed their intricate biological systems for breathing, walking, reproducing from nowhere. He just thought of it. And I think, how can you be in biology without realizing this? There is no way a chance explosion could bring things so unique and wonderful into being like this. It was all perfectly planned. The coolest part is that He didn't even really make them, He just spoke and they were there. Words are what made this planet gorgeous!!!!

Anyway, back to the old folks home, I also visit Manny and Jean. Jean is also pleasantly confused and so we just usually chat. Manny is completely with it and she just loves when I come to visit. We usually play games like Kings in the Corner or Crib and unfortunately I usually lose. Haha. And I don't just let her win either. She is GOOD! Today though we just talked and she was happy to do that. They are so lonely there. Everyday they don't even want to get out of bed because there is nothing to do and no reason to live. But when they know that someone is coming to visit, they get excited and they know that they have a reason to exist. I am so grateful that I can be a part of it. It just makes my day to see them happy and laughing about the littlest things. I have much to learn from them. They are like children in that they look at people with pure curiousity, no judgement whatsoever. They would give anything to be outside on a nice day just to take in nature. They treasure the simplest of toys or trinkets because they know the love that went into picking it out for them. Thank God for the elderly!